Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Mass Surveillance Makes the Internet and Computers Less Safe

‘By weakening encryption, the NSA allows others to more easily break it. By installing backdoors and other vulnerabilities in systems, the NSA exposes them to other malicious hackers—whether they are foreign governments or criminals. As security expert Bruce Schneier explained, ‘It’s sheer folly to believe that only the NSA can exploit the vulnerabilities they create.’’

The NSA’s big data collection itself creates an easy mark for hackers. Remember, the Pentagon itself sees the collection of ‘big data’ as a ‘national security threat’ … but the NSA is the biggest data collector on the planet, and thus provides a tempting mother lode of information for foreign hackers

One of the Real Reasons the Government Conducts Mass Surveillance

If the spying doesn’t keep us safe, why are they doing it? One of the main reasons is money:

‘We collect this information for many important reasons: for one, it could provide the United States and our allies early warning of international financial crises which could negatively impact the global economy. It also could provide insight into other countries’ economic policy or behavior which could affect global markets.’

Bunker Mentality

As just one example of how far they’re going, the feds are considering prosecuting the owner of a private email company – who shut down his business rather than turning over records to the NSA – for refusing to fork over the information and keep quiet. This is a little like trying to throw someone in jail because he’s died and is no longer paying taxes

A Harvard law school professor – and director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University – says:

‘The NSA has mounted a systematic campaign against the foundations of American power: constitutional checks and balances, technological leadership, and market entrepreneurship. The NSA scandal is no longer about privacy, or a particular violation of constitutional or legislative obligations. ’.

The Danger of Tyranny

Insiders say that the mass surveillance is creating a real danger of tyranny in America:

The NSA treats the American people with contempt. For example, Spiegel notes:

‘The authors of the [NSA slides] draw a comparison with ‘1984,’ … revealing the agency’s current view of smartphones and their users. ‘Who knew in 1984 that this would be Big Brother …’ the authors ask, in reference to a photo of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. And commenting on photos of enthusiastic Apple customers and iPhone users, the NSA writes: ‘… and the zombies would be paying customers?

On the Bright Side

Larwyn's Lynx

Say No to Socialism

FIRST AMENDMENT

IN GOD WE TRUST -- Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. -- DON'T TREAD ON ME!!!!